Assurances
by Alexander1996
Summary: Two Englishmen investigate Arendelle two determine whether or not the country's queen is a threat; meanwhile, Elsa has political difficulties with her subordinates.
1. Broken

Chapter One: Broken

While Adrendelle was a monarchy, there hadn't been a monarchy for several years. As the late King and Queen had created a council to assist them, however, the issue was solved more easily than it might have otherwise been. The council had ruled during the regency period before their new Queen could take the throne, and now, Elsa could tell that they were not impressed with her.

Councilor Karl Leonardsen, the head of economics, had been glaring at Elsa since the moment she had arrived in the Council's chamber and sat down amongst them for her first meeting. The room was small, circular, with bookshelves and maps taking up all of the walls. The only other feature of note was the large oak table in the center of the room, built to allow ten to sit around it. At the moment there were nine people in the room: two guards standing by the only entrance and exit; Elsa, who was looking over a series of documents at the moment and ignoring the glares; Councilor Steensen, the head of agriculture; Councilor Leonardsen, who was continuing to glare; Councilor Erickson, the head of foreign relations; Councilor Arnesen, the head of internal relations; Councilor Haakonsson, the head of justice; and Councilor Hummel, the head of military.

Once Elsa had finished looking over the reports, she lifted her gaze from them to settle on her Council. "Leonardsen," she began, trying her best to ignore the look he was giving her. "I suppose that you wish to begin this meeting?"

"Yes," he began, his voice trembling with anger. "I don't suppose that you had any real, rational, reason for cutting off trade with Weselton?"

"Besides the actions of their Duke, no. I don't feel that I need another reason at the moment," she answered honestly. Memories of recent events flashed through her mind, unbidden. With a moment of slow breathing, she calmed such feelings.

"Well," Leonardsen continued, "because of your cutting them off, we now have to trade with France, and I cannot guarantee that we can continue with trading if we continue getting the same turnouts from there. Simply put, you forced Arendelle out of agreeable trades, ones that we needed. The amount of people without jobs has grown from this."

"What exactly have prices risen on?" Elsa asked him. Having been isolated for three years, and then gone completely for several weeks, there hadn't been much time to look over the state of Arendelle's imports. She privately wished that she had done so during her time on her own.

"Foodstuffs, mainly fruits that can't grow in this climate," Leonardsen answered. "The freeze also destroyed a good portion of our crops."

"Steensen," the queen turned to the short, plump woman that was on her left. "What can you tell me about the state of the farms?"

"Your Grace," Steensen began, with an air much calmer than the other councilor's had been. "The worst of the damage was near the palace itself, and in the close-by farmlands. A circle around ten kilometers in diameter worth of crops, centered around the capital, were utterly destroyed. Others have merely been weakened by the blizzard. Hence, the need to import new crops."

"Not to mention that with the sea frozen over at such an unexpected time, several of our ships are now in mal-repair," Councilor Hummel mentioned. "I need workers to fix those."

"And none of you bothered to check with one another?" Elsa asked rhetorically. "Start hiring people to begin repairs on the ships, as well as more people to help with replanting the farms. That way there are less people on the streets, and our fleets are fixed. Leonardsen, I'm sure that you are capable of finding ways to pay them."

The Councilor nodded, reluctant to say anything else, and pulled a sheet of parchment to himself, and began to write. "What of foreign relations, anything new to report?" the queen asked, turning once again to another.

"Nothing new. At the moment, we suspect that the other nations are evaluating the, change in scenery," Councilor Erickson said. "Another matter of importance, the British have lost their colony in North America."

"Their bid for independence was successful," Elsa wondered aloud, surprised. "Any thoughts on how that will change the current political climate?"

"They'll likely look into other colonies after this, maybe in the Pacific."

"Alright," Elsa let out a slight breath. With the British controlling the seas, there had always been a sense of pressure coming from them. Still, being thrown out of North America would hopefully give Arendelle some breathing room, especially to move their ships throughout the seas. "And anything else?"

"Corona had members of its royal family here, during the event," Erickson began, and Elsa noticed how he intentionally went out of his way to not refer to her actions by any sort of name. She silently thanked him for that, not wishing to remember what had happened. "They are fine, at this moment, and back in their homeland. They have expressed a desire, however, to send members of the royal family to Arendelle in some months for the purposes of a diplomatic visit. I have yet to give approval for such a visit, and was wishing for your approval."

Elsa nodded, keeping silent as she thought. There were dozens of small kingdoms that had yet to be gobbled up by the larger nations. Corona was one such place, located on the eastern coast of the Pyrenees. From what Elsa understood, their had been a succession crisis for over a dozen years. Like how Arendelle had yet to be taken into a larger nation, so Corona had avoided both France and Spain for years. The two had been allied for some years, as the smaller nations of the world often times had to stick with one another.

"Tell them that they are welcome whenever they wish to come," Elsa finally decided. "I suppose that they would prefer to further our alliance."

"I would hope as much," Erickson admitted. "I'll send the documents."

"Good. Do you have any ideas as to who they'll send?" Elsa asked. The last thing she needed was someone like the recent bout of diplomats in her life again. There were nights when she would wake up, frost covering her sheets, screaming as she remembered the horrid days that had just occurred.

"They're daughter has little experience in the world," Erickson replied. "They have mentioned potentially sending her." Elsa nodded mutely, not having anything else to say on the matter.

"And on internal relations?" Elsa asked, eager for the morning's meeting to be over. There had been several meetings scheduled in the afternoon, and, being her first day truly in the role, Elsa had wanted to take things at a slower pace than she expected she would be forced to take them at later.

"Nothing hugely," Councilor Arnesen answered. He was a rather stout man, with a double chin and a large onyx beard that covered most of his face. He was the one member of the Council that Elsa had met with regularly before. She had made acquaintances with the others before, but it had been her personal mission to make sure that she met with Arnesen several times before she assumed the throne. "The people have reacted, relatively well, I would say. Their loyalty to your parents has extended on to you." _Good,_ Elsa thought to herself, _the last thing I need on top of everything else is for an unruly mob._

"If there are no other matters of great import, then I shall take my leave," Elsa said. There were no other voices rising, so she stood, as did the others. They all bowed to her, and with that she turned to leave.

After a few hallways of turns, she heard someone walking beside her. Elsa turned to look, and saw that Arnesen was struggling to keep up with her. "Councilor," she said. "Is there anything that you need of me? I would think that the meeting went well. Relatively speaking." In truth, she had hoped that the others would be a little more accommodating, but she supposed it was better than demanding her abdication.

"You haven't seen much of what else they speak of," Arnesen replied. "You know how they can overrule your decisions so long as all of us vote unanimously?" After Elsa nodded, he continued. "They doubt that you can perform well. They intend on overruling you at every chance they get. Leonardsen is more blatant than the others, but they all intend on reining you in."

"And you?" Elsa asked. She noticed a thin veil of icy mist coming from her hands, and after a moment of focus it faded.

"I intend on remaining loyal to the family," Arnesen answered. "Your parents were good to me when times were hard for me. I intend on repaying them to the best of my abilities. Still, the others could remove me from the Council if they wanted to, and replace me with someone more to their liking."

Elsa gave a small smile, hoping to bring the older man's spirits up, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Arnesen. It won't come to that."

He shook his head sadly. "Don't be so sure. This nation may look strong from the outside, despite what has happened. There is too much in-fighting, though. In truth, Arendelle is broken. A structure still made out of the scraps that it had once been. All it takes is a strong push to knock us over."

The rest of this fanfiction can be read at: /works/1137946/chapters/2301353 (put this after archive of our own on the URL).

Please do so (it has about 10 chapters so far).

**Update: Thank you to all the people who told me that the link was broken, it has been fixed. And apparently, after looking at an update, it hasn't. For whatever reason it keeps on deleting the first bit of the link, so I'll just tell you all that it's on Archive Of Our Own, under the same name. It has quite a few chapters on there, and I regularly update it there.**


	2. The Englishmen

**Chapter Two: The Englishmen**

Across the bay, a seagull's cry broke through the silent air. The air was heavy and clouds covered over the sun. _HBMS Lord Clint _broke through the waters, making its way closer to Dover with every passing moment. On board the ship, a cold, salty air gently caressed the bodies of those that were working, and sea spray splashed against their bodies. Inside of the captain's quarters, on the other hand, was calm and warm. A globe sat in one corner, and a large map was hanging from a wall, dozens of marks scratching the surface. The captain himself, always making sure to stay with the times, had scratched the word "Colonies" off of the large area of land, and had replaced it in scrawling shorthand with "United States of America". The captain mused at the map as he swirled a glass of liquor in his hand. "Times always change," he muttered in a volume that made him think that his comment had gone unheard.

The admiral who had been sitting behind him, however, had keen ears. "And with a change in times comes a change in venues. You have a sixty gun warship, I do hope that you aren't planning on letting it lie about."

"The war is over," Captain Peak pointed out, motioning at the map with his glass as he spoke. "The colonists won. I fail to see what you expect I should be doing."

"As I had said," the admiral replied, grinning slightly. "New venues. There are always places looking for newer, better, hands in management."

"I hope that you don't mean to India," Captain Peak grumbled. "The place is a death sentence. The people hate us, the land hates us. I don't care what sorts of spices can be found there. Or silks. Or the like."

"Do not worry, my dear captain," the admiral chuckled. "I do not intend on sending you to such a distant place. Have you ever heard of Arendelle?"

The captain frowned, then nodded slightly his head. "A small portion of Norway that somehow retained its independence despite all odds. Fertile, and the place had some small ports, but nothing of true importance," Captain Peak said, and the admiral nodded in agreement.

"Something has changed there," the admiral said. "It is the view of the crown that Arendelle is worth looking into."

"As a colony?" the Captain asked. The rest of Europe would be unhappy about such an action, but if it was the will of the crown, then he would do so.

"Perhaps," the admiral muttered, taking a moment to run a hand through his thick, brown beard. "We wish to have assurance that their queen will show more restraint than she has had. Otherwise, leave nothing left."

"Restraint?" Captain Peak asked.

"Yes. The frost that covered up the north sea a month ago is believed to have been her doing. If she cannot be controlled, then it would be most prudent to ensure that no such thing happens again."

"Her doing? How?" The frost had been only a slight thing, a thin layer of ice extending some hundred kilometers from Norway. Still, the event had baffled scientists from all over Europe, no one able to make anything of the freak weather.

"Sorcery, perhaps. We aren't entirely sure at the moment. We shall be bringing some more people onto your ship, to assist in your mission. Evaluate the risk that the queen presents, and react accordingly. We expect for you to be gone in two days, headed for Arendelle."

As _Lord Clint _broke away from Dover some days later, Captain Peak stood at the helm of the ship, watching the water. He could see his reflection in the cool blue water. The wind was strong today, stronger than it had been many days before, and he could feel it ruffle through his ginger hair. The color had come from his parentage, a sign of what he had accomplished. Despite being Irish by birth, he had come to captain one of the greatest ships in the British navy. And now, it was headed towards one of the smallest countries in Europe, save perhaps the Vatican. Peak let out a slight grin, as he was known to do before a mission began. He was ready.

Three days later, the _HBMS Lord Clint _broke solidly through the water ahead, moving powerfully to the coast. The small city of Ijmuiden was located directly ahead of the ship, and Captain Peak watched it approach from where he stood at the prow of the ship. This was their final stop before making their way further north, and Peak hoped to be done in Ijmuiden as swiftly as could be. The freezing of the North Sea was thought by some to have changed weather patterns for the foreseeable future. If he could, Peak would be in Arendelle before any bad weather could arrive from such changes.

A loosely folded paper was held in Peak's loose grip, flapping slightly in the wind. He looked down at it once more, reading the name and address of the man that would be brought onto the ship from here. Besides obtaining the meager amount of supplies that would be needed for the rest of their journey, Ijmuiden would also be where they met their expert for assessing the Queen. Peak had read over what he was given several times last night and this morning, wishing to learn as much as he could about his associate. Lord Randolph was a minor noble, born and raised in Leeds, he was notable for military service in southeast Asia, as well as some time in the Caribbean. He had graduated from the University of Oxford four years ago. What he was doing in Ijmuiden, Peak couldn't guess.

Half an hour later, Peak found himself at a fairly large hostel, near the waterside. It was a recent construction, Peak noticed, the year of construction posted on a bronze sign in front of the building: 1756. After adjusting his coat, Peak stepped inside. The lobby of the hostel was well furnished, with dozens of chairs placed around and rich carpets covering the floor. A fireplace was open and lit on the other side of the lobby. Peak looked across the room, hoping to find Lord Randolph on the immediate look-through.

Randolph was considerate at least, Peak decided, when his eyes settled upon the young Lord. He was sitting next to a small cherry table, on which a multitude of books were set. A bag was placed next to the books, as well as some instrument that Peak couldn't identify, which looked like a small spyglass with tongs on its sides. He was currently reading a book, as well as drinking what appeared to be a cup of tea. Peak moved over to where the young Lord was sitting, sat opposite of him, and waited for the young man to lift his head from his book.

After a moment, Lord Randolph looked upward. He was heterochromatic, Peak observed, one green eye and one blue showed from underneath of a sea of curly black hair. Randolph was pale, and his face was gaunt. Acne covered his naked chin, and Randolph pulled a blue scarf that he was wearing up over his chin after Peak looked there. The captain held out his hand, and Lord Randolph shook it, his own coat sliding down on his arm as he lifted it up.

"Lord Randolph, I presume?" Peak asked.

"Captain Graham Peak," Lord Randolph replied. "By all means, simply call me Randolph." He took a drink from his tea before speaking again. "I've been told that I don't quite make a fitting Lord just yet. I trust that your voyage was pleasant?"

"Pleasant enough," Peak replied. The boy nodded silently. "And so should the next part of our voyage. It would seem that the weather favors us today. Sailing should be smooth."

"Good," Randolph said. He set his current readings down on the table. Peak looked at it, it was a copy of Thomas Paine's _Common Sense_. Curious, Peak lifted the pamphlet, as the next book was written in some other writing system. "I get terribly sick while at sea," Randolph continued, "I hope that I will not spend to much of my time on board hurling over the side."

"You can take my cabin, if need be," Peak said. It wouldn't have been the first time that he had spent a deal of time with his men instead of the captain's cabin.

"Thank you very much, Captain," Randolph said. "I must say, despite my trepidation, I am very eager to see the ship. What is her name?"

"_Lord Clint_," Peak answered.

"Hardly a female name, but I suppose it will do," the boy commented, his tone making it clear that he was unaware of the insult. "Which Lord Clint is the ship named after, may I ask?"

"I am unaware," Peak admitted. He hadn't been the first one to captain the ship, in fact, it had been built and christened _Lord Clint_ before he had even joined the navy.

Lord Randolph made a small noise in the back of his throat that Peak wasn't sure what to make of. "Your accent," he began instead, turning away from the topic at hand. "You are from Ireland, are you not?"

"My father was English, but lived in Ireland since he was a child," Peak admitted once more. "My mother was an Irish native."

"Well, congratulations on your appointment, Captain," Lord Randolph said, reaching out and shaking Peak's hand once more. "You certainly must have had to work uphill for that, did you not." Peak didn't answer. "In any case, shall we be going? I would like to be getting this boat ride over as soon as possible." With that, Lord Randolph rose, taking one last drink from his tea. "If you would be kind enough to take these," Randolph gestured to the books as he slid his bag onto his body and took the instrument in one hand. Peak complied, picking the books up.

"What script is this one in?" Peak asked, gesturing as best he could to the book he had seen earlier.

"Oh, that one," Lord Randolph looked over at the book. "Devanagari. I learned to read it while in India for some years. Fascinating place."

"I've never been," was the only thing that Peak could think to reply with. Trying to think of a new angle for the conversation, he asked, "So, what experience do you have with things like this?"

"You mean with cryokinetics," Lord Randolph replied, letting out a goofy smile as he did so. "I wish I could say that I have met one before, but sadly I have not. Still, it should be exciting. If you worried over my credentials, there is no need. I am well learned in multiple areas of biology, as well as many theories of how energy flows through the body. I can only assume that the crown chose my carefully. I can assure you, Captain, you will not be disappointed."

"It isn't me you need to worry about," Peak said. "I don't think that anyone will be very happy if the entire North Sea freezes over again, or worse."

"How much do we truly know?" Lord Randolph asked. "We know that this Queen, Queen Elsa I believe is her name, is a cryokinetic—someone able to control ice—and that she was responsible for the thin layer of ice over the North Sea, as well as the frost over Norway. I have heard that it was worse in her home nation than elsewhere, but the question remains, how much can she truly do?"

"You want to encourage such things?" Peak asked. "She could freeze the entire world over." At this, Lord Randolph let out a hearty laugh. The scarf that he had pulled over his chin fell back down, but he didn't move to pull it back up.

"No, you misunderstand me, Captain," he said, still chuckling slightly. "It is not my wish to encourage such behavior. I was merely stating that, from a scientific perspective, it would be fascinating to know what the upper limit of her abilities are. And, while we are on the subject, I doubt that she could freeze the world over. She is still a human, after all."

"And how would you know that?" Peak asked the young Lord as they turned off of the street they had been on, coming to the harbor. _Lord Clint_ was facing them like a proud beauty, the bowsprit jutting out over the cobblestone.

"Just, when you think about it, there have to have been some other humans, before this Queen, that have had similar abilities. Even if the chance is only one in a million, that would still mean that there have been many such people. You would think that, if it were possible to freeze the world, that one of them would have tried to do it before? Just, maybe for now reason, try to freeze the world, just to see if they could do it. But, as far as we know, the world has never frozen over. Therefore, I see no reason why as to believe that this Queen has abilities to that level."

"I see," Peak said. "I must say, I agree with that. It is good to have you on board, Lord Randolph."

As he crossed the threshold onto the ship, the young Lord replied. "I would not miss this for anything."

**Notes:**

This story does take place about 50 years before Frozen actually takes place, I am aware of that. Also, it takes place in an alternate universe (for random example, Philadelphia is the capital of the U.S., as well as India being a much larger world power than it had been in real life). As always, a lot of this story can be read on archive of our own, under the same name, but the rest of the story will eventually be uploaded here.


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